The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) is an international research institute for mathematical and physical sciences operating under a tripartite agreement between the Italian Government, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
For more than 45 years, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) has been a driving force behind global efforts to advance scientific expertise in the developing world.
Founded in 1964 by the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, ICTP seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers. ICTP has been a major force in stemming the scientific brain drain from the developing world.
ICTP alumni serve as professors at major universities, chairpersons of academic departments, directors of research centres and ministers of science and technology in nations throughout the developing world. Many of them have been recognized in their own countries and internationally for their contributions to science and science policy. The impact of ICTP extends well beyond the Centre's facilities to virtually every corner of the Earth.
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a pan-African network of centres of excellence for postgraduate training, research and outreach in mathematical sciences. Founded in South Africa in 2003, AIMS also has centres in Senegal, Ghana and Cameroon.
The vision of AIMS is to lead the transformation of Africa through innovative scientific training, technical advances and breakthrough discoveries which benefit the whole society. It seeks to achieve this by enabling Africa's brightest students to flourish as independent thinkers, problem solvers and innovators capable of propelling Africa's future scientific, educational and economic self-sufficiency.
The African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) is a mathematics research, training and promotional network in Africa. It was established with the support of the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), a programme administered by the Science Initiative Group (SIG) and currently operates in collaboration with the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), which provides office space and financial services. Initially the network operated only in sub-Saharan Africa but in August 2013 it was extended to North Africa. There are currently six regions, with offices located at the University of Botswana (Botswana), the University of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the Marien Ngouabi University (Congo), the University Mohammed V-Agdal, (Morocco), the University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Each region is headed by a Regional Coordinator. Overall coordination of AMMSI is from the Programme Office located at the University of Nairobi (Kenya) and headed by the Programme Director.
The activities of AMMSI to date include: (i) a postgraduate scholarship programme which has benefited over 250 students from sub-Saharan Africa; (ii) grants to over 100 postgraduate students to enable them attend conferences organized in Africa; (iii) collaborating with the International Mathematical Union and the London Mathematical Society in running a project called Mentoring African Research in Mathematics (MARM); (iv) award of 23 Visiting/Research fellowships; (v) organization of regional and continental conferences. AMMSI seeks new sponsors to enable it fulfill its mission of nurturing the next generation of African mathematicians and mathematical leadership by enhancing capacity through diverse activities.
The African Mathematical Union (AMU) was founded in 1976 at the first Pan-African Congress of Mathematicians held in Rabat, Morocco. Prof. Henri HOGBE NLEND was the first AMU President and the Current AMU President is Prof. Adewale SOLARIN (Nigeria). The mission of AMU is to coordinate and promote the quality teaching, learning, research and outreach activities in all areas of mathematical sciences all over Africa. The AMU Journal “Afrika Matematika” has been created in 1978, and in 1986, four Commissions have been created by the AMU Executive Committee, namely, AMU Commission on Mathematics Education (AMUCME), AMU Commission on Mathematics Olympiads (AMUCMO or AMUPAMO), AMU Commission on History of Mathematics in Africa (AMUCHMA) and AMU Commission on Women and Mathematics in Africa (AMUCWMA). In 2009, a fifth Commission, AMU Commission for Research & Innovation in Mathematical Sciences (integrating Afrika Matematika), has been created. Also the AMU has created the AMU Mathematical sciences Network in 1993 and encouraged the various Specialized Mathematical Networks (CARI, PDE modeling and Control, GEONET, GIRAGA, RAMA, RAGAAD, RAMAD, etc…), created since 1990 through Africa in order to encompass the African Mathematics Researchers by fields. The past period of the life of AMU witnessed the organisation or co-sponsoring of various mathematical activities like: the sub-regional symposia to alleviate the isolation of African mathematicians; 23 editions of Pan African Mathematics Olympiads to detect the mathematics talents among the African youth, training camps for students and team leaders for PAMO (PAMOSTAR), Symposia on Mathematics Education; conferences untitled “ Pan African Mathematical space”(Hammamet 2006 and 2008) , workshops on the History of Mathematics in Africa; West African Training School (WATS); African Mathematical Schools (AMS); and recently symposia on African Women and Mathematics (Ouaga 2012, Cape Town 2013). The AMU has benefited from the support of International organizations, Societies and foundations like: IMU, UNESCO, UNDP, ICTP, CIMPA, ISESCO, London Mathematical Society, John Templeton foundation etc.
The Centre International de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées (CIMPA) (English: International Centre for Pure and Applied Mathematics) is a UNESCO Category 11 organization based in Nice (France) and established in 1978. It aims is to promote international cooperation in higher education and research in mathematics and related subjects, including computer science, for the benefit of developing countries.
CIMPA is a non-profit organisation, and depends on many mathematicians and institutional members the world over. CIMPA is based in France and is developing into a European centre so that other countries can give it financial support, participate in its activities and thus allow it to meet the many needs of developing countries more effectively.
CIMPA’s main activity is the organisation of research schools. Every year a call for proposals is launched to organise around twenty research schools (selected by an independent international Scientific Council) lasting two weeks each in developing countries worldwide. It also collaborates with continental mathematical societies to organise schools at the master level where appropriate. It supports research networks in various ways.
CDC is a commission of the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
Since the early 1970s, the International Mathematical Union (IMU) has maintained a program of cooperation with, and in support of mathematical institutions and individual mathematicians in the developing world. Within the last decade IMU has increased its attention to the mathematical needs of developing and economically disadvantaged countries. As part of this increased attention IMU and its adhering organizations decided in August 2009 to merge the CDE and the DCSG into one commission, the Commission for Developing Countries (CDC). The (CDC) is a nine-member commission whose members are elected or appointed for a four-year term by the IMU General Assembly. CDC's mandate is to manage all IMU initiatives in support of mathematics in the developing world and, in particular, to continue the successful work previously carried out by CDE and DSCG.. Besides administering the Grants Programs for Mathematicians as well as the Volunteer Lecture Program, the CDC takes part in the following types of activities in accordance with various aspects of its mission:
The Committee for Developing Countries is a committee of the European Mathematical Society (EMS). It consists of about ten members and ten associate members, most of whom are engaged in development work in their capacity as heads of various such projects. We aim to assist developing countries in all possible ways. With our book donation scheme, we have moved tens of tonnes of books and journals, from Europe, USA and Canada, to Africa, South East Asia, and South and Central America. We run workshops on electronic access and help to build up libraries. Thanks to an agreement with Zentralblatt, Developing Countries get free access. We help to build up regional centres and networks; with our successful scheme Emerging Regional Centres of Excellence (ERCE). Among the emerging economical regions there are very good centres which can train mathematicians to the Masters level and higher; we endorse and help a number of such centres to offer training to M.Sc. level to students from less developed countries in their region. We also support some students from developing countries to pursue their studies in such centers of their region.
The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is a one-week event for highly talented Mathematicians and Computer Scientists from all around the world. The Forum combines scientific, network and outreach activities with the purpose to strengthen the visibility of both sciences. It is organized by the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (HLFF),a non-profit foundation which was initiated by the German foundation Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS) in 2013. The German Klaus Tschira Stiftung was established by the physicist and co-founder of the software company SAP Klaus Tschira in 1995. Its primary objective is to support the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science and wants to raise appreciation for these fields. The KTS is located at the Villa Bosch in Heidelberg, Germany, the former residence of Nobel Prize laureate for chemistry Carl Bosch (1874 – 1940). The KTS also established the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS).
The Capacity & Networking Project (CANP) is a developmental focus of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). The purpose of the CANP project is to enhance mathematics education at all levels in developing countries. It aims to develop the educational capacity of those responsible for mathematics teachers, and create sustained and effective regional networks of teachers, mathematics educators and mathematicians, and linking these networks to international support. CANP consists of an ongoing series of Programmes in a different developing region each year. The first programme CANP 1 Edi Math was held in Mali with participants from across Sub-Saharan Africa in September 2011. CANP 2, Central America and the Caribbean was held in Costa Rica in August 2012. The third CANP 3 South East Asia was held in Cambodia in 2013. CANP 4 East Africa will be held in Tanzania in September 2014. Each programme has, at its centre, a two-week workshop of about forty participants, half from the host country and half from regional neighbours’. It is be primarily aimed at mathematics teacher educators, but each programm also includes mathematicians, researchers, policy-makers, and key teachers.
The International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) was created in 1990 and is based in Edinburgh. It is wholly owned by the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University, and receives funding from the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the London Mathematical Society.
ICMS supports research in the mathematical sciences. Its core activity is the development and organisation of international workshops and conferences in all areas of mathematics, and these attract leading mathematical scientists from the UK and overseas
In addition to workshops, ICMS is involved in a number of other mathematical activities such as small group research programmes, postgraduate training, journal management and outreach.
This include the administration of the James Clerk Maxwell AIMS Fund which enables mathematicians based in Scotland to teach at one of the African Institutes for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). The fund is showcased in the poster session of the MENAO symposium.
International Science Programme (ISP) was established at Uppsala University in 1961 and assists low income countries to build and strengthen their domestic research capacity and postgraduate education in the basic sciences – chemistry, mathematics and physics. ISP aims to contribute to the growth of scientific knowledge in low income countries through long term collaboration with institutionally based research groups and regional scientific networks in these countries.
ISP’s subprogram in mathematics, International Programme in the Mathematical Sciences (IPMS), was established in 2002 and supports research groups in Ethiopia, Cambodia and Laos, as well as two regional networks in Eastern and Western Africa.
Since the start of IPMS around 40 students have obtained a PhD degree, a large number of master students have obtained their degrees in local master programs, and hundreds of scientific articles have been published in international journals. A number of conferences, workshops and schools have been organized, with participants from Sub Saharan Africa, Europe and the United States.
ISP’s main funding comes from the Swedish government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Other important contributors are Uppsala University and Stockholm University.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency ("JICA") is an incorporative administrative agency that coordinates official development assistance (ODA) (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in development countries, and the promotion of international cooperation.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is advancing its activities around the pillars of a field-oriented approach, human security, and enhanced effectiveness, efficiency, and speed.
As the country's comprehensive development institution, the Japan International Cooperation Agency is dedicated to strengthening this movement under the rubric of 'Inclusive and Dynamic Development,'- continuing our traditional cooperation projects, but also forging new alliances and partnerships, exploring new approaches to new challenges and creating new ideas and 'knowledge centers' between Japanese and overseas experts, academics, technicians and private business.
JICA provides technical cooperation, concessional loans and investment, and grant aid and its operations are based on the concept of providing both the type and level of cooperation appropriate to individual countries or regions, ranging from peacebuilding to sustainable economic and social growth.
JICA is one of the largest bilateral development organizations in the world with a network of 97 overseas offices, projects in more than 150 countries.
An increasing number of JICA programs/projects focuses on "human security" to empower local communities to have a greater say in their own futures by strengthening grassroots programs, such as improving education and health projects.
Mentoring African Research in Mathematics (MARM) is a cooperative programme designed to support mathematics research and advanced teaching in African universities by establishing longer-term mentoring relations between mathematicians working in established research centres, their colleagues in Africa, and doctoral students of those colleagues.
‘MARM partnerships have involved many activities including PhD supervision, conferences and workshops, exchange visits and improvements in resources and Curricula. Seventeen mentoring partnerships have so far been set up, in Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
Funding for these partnerships from the Nuffield Foundation and the Leverhulme Trust is now finished. New funding for four new partnerships has been awarded in 2013 and 2014 from the London Mathematical Society and the International Mathematical Union. New sponsors are being sought to allow the MARM programme to continue beyond this.
NBHM was set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, in 1983 to promote the development of mathematics in India. The Board has played an important role in furthering mathematical education and research
in India through its various schemes, some of which are described below.
Training: NBHM offers scholarships for students to pursue masters and doctoral studies in mathematics. It also offers post-doctoral fellowships.
In addition to financial support, it also trains students through various instructional schools or camps.
Interaction and Mobility: NBHM sponsors visiting professorships to Indian universities. It also gives travel grants for Indian researchers to attend conferences in India and abroad.
Grants: NBHM offers grants for individual research projects and for conducting conferences and instructional schools in India. A few institutions of excellence are given generous General purpose grants by NBHM.
Library support: NBHM provides an annual grant to several Indian institutions to develop their libraries. It has established regional consortia for online access to mathematical journals for institutions in the region. It also distributes, free of cost, basic text books to a large number of mathematics departments in India.
Mathematics Olympiad: NBHM has set up a detailed network to select and train school students to participate in mathematical olympiads at the regional, national and international levels.
At this joint booth, different organizations for science and research from European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands provide information on funding opportunities, mathematical research and research institutions within the respective countries.
Representatives from “Research in Germany” – consisting here of the German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (AvH) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft – and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NOW) invite researchers of all career stages to visit and to get individual information.
The Simons Foundation is a private foundation based in New York City, incorporated in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons. The Simons Foundation’s mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. They sponsor a range of programs in the sciences, including grants programs in mathematics and the physical sciences. The primary focus of the foundation’s Mathematics and Physical Sciences division is the theoretical sciences radiating from mathematics: in particular, the fields of mathematics, theoretical computer science and theoretical physics.
The Southeast Asian Mathematical Society (SEAMS) seeks to promote the advancement of mathematics and facilitate exchange and collaboration between mathematicians in the Southeast Asian region, and Asia in general. It is composed of the members of mathematical societies in Southeast Asia.
SEAMS was founded in 1972, the result of a Southeast Asian tour by our founding president Prof Wong Yung Chow of the University of Hong Kong. With the support of mathematicians in the region, the inaugural meeting was held in July 1972 in Singapore. Over the years, exchanges and collaboration were fostered; mathematical societies were founded and strengthened.
The facilitation of mathematical exchanges led to regional conferences on mathematics and mathematics education. Among the series of conferences initiated by SEAMS was the Southeast Asian Conference on Mathematics Education (SEACME), which began in 1978 and was held every three years until 1999. SEACME has since then merged with another outcome of regional exchanges, the East Asia Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME).
One of the focal activities of SEAMS is the Asian Mathematical Conference (AMC) series, held every 4-5 years and hosted by countries in Asia. The first AMC was held in Hong Kong (1990), followed by Thailand (1995), Philippines (2000), Singapore (2005), Malaysia (2009) and South Korea (2013). The next AMC will take place in 2016 in Bali, Indonesia.
Started 2011, SEAMS also organizes annually SEAMS Schools hosted by countries in Southeast Asia. These schools provide opportunity for undergraduate as well as master students to have an advanced learning experience in mathematics, and to introduce a research-based learning.
The Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean (UMALCA) was created at the meeting on 26 and 27 July 1995 at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics in Rio de Janeiro, with the participation of the Presidents and representative of the National Societies of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, and in the last decade the National Societies of Equator, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Bolivia became members of UMALCA.
Creating UMALCA responded to the needs for an institutional tool to improve the relationship between the scientific teams of the Latin American countries; stimulate the exchange of researchers, PhD students and postdoctoral programs and perform various mathematical building, like EMALCA's Schools, in less developed countries of the region. It was also proposed UMALCA promote communications among colleagues through networks and other mechanisms for information dissemination.
Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI)
African Mathematical Union (AMU)
Centre International de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées (CIMPA)
Commission for Developing Countries (IMU-CDC)
European Mathematical Society- Commission for Developing Countries (EMS-CDC)
Heidelberg Laureate Forum and Klaus Tschira Foundation
ICMI Capacity and Network Project (CANP)
International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS)
International Science Programme (ISP), Uppsala University
Japan International Cooperation Agency
Mentoring African Research in Mathematics (MARM)
National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM)
"Research in Europe" (Germany, the Netherlands)
Research in Germany (German Research Foundation (DFG), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Alexander von Humboldt- Foundation and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft),
Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
Simons Foundation
Southeast Asian Mathematical Society (SEAMS)
Mathematical Union of Latin America and the Caribbean (UMALCA)